notepad-plus-plus / notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus

[Feature request] Allow piping into the program

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C++
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Description

Is there an existing issue for this?
  • I have searched the existing issues
Description of the Issue

I'm wondering if it's possible to allow piping one or more items from standard output into new tabs in notepad++.

Describe the solution you'd like.

https://apps.kde.org/en-gb/kate/ has this feature, where one can write command | kate --stdin or even for/while...; do command | kate --stdin; done and each command pipe will open a new tab with the content. It's far more convenient (and reliable) than copying-and-pasting the output of each command.

My workaround is to pipe to a temporary file in Windows:

function Open-NotepadPlusPlus {
	param(
		[Parameter(ValueFromPipeline = $true)]
		$Content
	)
	begin {
		$tempPaths = New-Object System.Collections.Generic.List[string]
	}
	process {
		$tempPath = [IO.Path]::GetTempFileName()
		$Content *>&1 | Out-File -Encoding 'utf8' $tempPath
		$tempPaths.Add($tempPath)
	}
	end {
		Start-Process `
			-FilePath "$env:ProgramFiles\Notepad++\notepad++.exe" `
			-ArgumentList $tempPaths
	}
}

But a solution that doesn't touch the hard drive would be more helpful.

Debug Information
Notepad++ v8.9.6.4   (64-bit)
Build time: Jun  3 2026 - 23:47:49
Scintilla/Lexilla included: 5.6.2/5.4.9
Boost Regex included: 1_90
pugixml included: 1.15
nlohmann JSON included: 3.12.0
Path: C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line: 
Admin mode: OFF
Local Conf mode: OFF
Cloud Config: OFF
WinGUp: present
disableNppAutoUpdate.xml: absent
Periodic Backup: OFF
Placeholders: OFF
Scintilla Rendering Mode: SC_TECHNOLOGY_DEFAULT (0)
Multi-instance Mode: monoInst
asNotepad: OFF
File Status Auto-Detection: cdEnabledNew (for current file/tab only)
Dark Mode: ON
Display Info:
    primary monitor: 1366x768, scaling 100%
    visible monitors count: 2
    installed Display Class adapters: 
        0000: Description - Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000
        0000: DriverVersion - 10.18.10.4358
OS Name: Windows 11 Pro (64-bit)
OS Version: 24H2
OS Build: 26100.8737
Current ANSI codepage: 1252
Plugins: 
    mimeTools (3.1)
    NppConverter (4.7)
    NppExport (0.4)
Anything else?

No response

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Research direction

No files or tests are named. Begin by locating the command-line startup and standard-input handling, then compare the requested --stdin behavior with existing argument processing. Done means piped output opens in a new tab without requiring a temporary file, including repeated pipes.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
cli, desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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